The sauce can make 'em or break 'em. But, in terms of the potsticker itself I prefer the ones with a not so doughy wrap and slightly browned. Re the sauce, green onions are a must! Have not tried any from the grocery, but will check them out.

Andrea

Let me reiterate that the standard way these are served in the Bay Area is NO SAUCE. You make your own from the 3 condiments always on the table: vinegar, soy sauce and hot chil oil or paste. Thus, there will be no green onions, garlic or the other things you can put in your own. But if they are truly a "must" you are doomed to disappointment. Personally, I like potstickers almost any way and often eat them with JUST the hot chili oil or paste.

I do agree that if the wrappers are too thick or doughy, it's bad. As to the browning, if what you have are actual "potstickers", meaning FRIED dumplings, they better be a bit browned. Otherwise, I'd consider them STEAMED dumplings which are also great, but different.

By the way, I've found the Japanese version, gyoza, are nearly always less thick/doughy and nearly always properly browned which is why I prefer them.

Boston folks, particularly locals, know of these wonders as Peking ravioli. This is because when Joyce Chen opened her first restaurant back in the '50s, it was in Boston's predominantly Italian (even more so back then) North End, so she called potstickers Peking Ravioli to make them seem less forbidding to the locals. To this day, a lot of townies just call them ravs, and the term is still on the menu in most of the old-school Boston Chinese restaurants.

For those of you interested in making potstickers and other dim sum, Dim Sum:The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch, by Ellen Leong Blonder, is a great little book. Everything we've made from it has been good. And nothing has been very difficult. The potstickers freeze well before cooking. I do not have a problem buying frozen potstickers or making and freezing them. To see a good selection of frozen dumplings go to http://www.unitednoodles.com. There must be 20 different kinds in the Chinese and Japanese/Korean sections of the Regional Foods menu. I don't think United Noodles ships their frozen items, if they do the shipping would probably be expensive.

You're welcome, PeachPie. I was the executive chef for a restaurant that specialized in ethnic cuisines so I have lots of resources on hand. I'm always happy to share recipes and information with anyone interested. Have fun with your nephew.

Hi Bill, I've done lots of different fillings. A muslim style dumpling with finely chopped beef and orange zest is good. A non traditional wonton that is good has smoked or roasted duck and pea shoots. I've used crab, shrimp, bamboo shoots, napa cabbage and cilantro for a nice seafood dumpling. Those weren't as sucessful as a potsticker. The filling was too delicate.I also like to make steamed, fried or baked buns (bao). The fried bao are done like pot stickers, sauteed until crispy and then steamed, and crisped up again.

I've wanted to try making my own potstickers, but the ingredient list and the directions in my Asian cookbooks always look so long and fussy. Redtressed's recipe looks eminently doable.

This thread has an amazing amount of good information on it, particularly with regard to brand names of preferred ingredients. Many of those things aren't available in my area, but if I know what to ask for, certainly I can order them or hunt them down when I go to the city. Thank you.

Catherine

I'd like to recommend a book called "Asian Ingredients" by a fellow named Bruce Cost who once ran an excellent upscale Chinese restaurant on the ground floor of my SF apartment building but who ran away to found a chain of noodle places called Big Bowls in the Midwest. Any way, he knows his soy sauce and chili paste and the book is a font of interesting info on brands to look for and subtle distinctions among Asian condiments.